Dark doll
by I-saw-it-first
Summary: What if Drocell Keinz had a younger sister? Abandoned all those years ago when his soul was supposedly reaped? What happens when a certain dark haired boy and his even darker butler come to investigate the house which once housed such a happy family? How will they react to the fiery spirited girl?
1. Chapter 1

5 years it had been, 5 years since Drocell Keinz vanished from the small 2 bed-roomed house on the corner of a bustling street. No one ever questioned his sudden disappearance, always believing him to be working from early in the morning until late at night. This was only to be expected, he'd always worked hard to look after his younger sister after their parents deaths, first by working as a butler for Duke Mandalay, until he earned enough money to rent a small shop and flat, complete with a bathroom, kitchen and comfortable enough rooms for himself and Iris, his younger sister. The shop was still open, and the black haired girl kept a watchful eye on it.  
When gossip was scarce and there was little else for the chatty housewives to giggle about however, rumors would circulate, stating such things as the Duke having long since gone mad, and the red haired boy having been murdered by the crazed old man, or the boy murdering the Duke himself and taking his riches to run away with a beautiful young lady. Some said that Drocell had abandoned young Iris after a quarrel of sorts, never to be seen again. These rumors were quickly stamped out by the fierce girl who now ran the shop, insisting that her brother was alive and well, working long hours each day, spending Sundays curled up in bed. Indeed, so fierce was her demeanor, that nobody dared argue with her, meekly apologising each time she caught them whispering in those scandalised tones. It was a mystery to many how a girl so terrifying and fearless could be so charming and happy behind the counter of the small toy shop, easily making enough money to keep the shop afloat with out forcing her brother to work the extra hours. Nobody ever questioned it though, choosing to instead tut from afar whenever they saw her berating another one of her elders, and other than that, keeping their distance. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement by now, if they left her alone, she would leave them alone in turn.  
And so it was, that when Iris closed up the shop early one Thursday afternoon, nobody questioned it, just as nobody questioned the strange absence of Drocell Keinz, and nobody would later be able to question the angry tears spilling from the black haired girls eyes as she sat at the scrubbed kitchen table, a steaming cup of tea clasped between her shaking hands.  
"It's been 5 years exactly Drocell" Iris Keinz mumbled under her breath, before taking a sip of the warm tea. "Where did you go dear brother?" She cried out softly. "Why did you abandon me here?" Sobs wracked her shoulders in jolting spasms before she stopped very suddenly, drawing in a large shaking breath. She wiped the salty stains from her face using her sleeve, taking an enormous gulp of tea before setting the cup gently on the table to wander aimlessly out of the kitchen and up the creaking stairs, remembering the skip over the 3rd one to avoid the enormous hole she'd made several months ago. When she reached the top, she looked at the 2 firmly closed doors carefully, before grabbing and turning the dusty handle of her brothers room, still the same as he'd left it. The first thing she saw when she entered was a half made doll left abandoned on the wobbly table, and she sat carefully on his still unmade bed, gazing at the clothes thrown carelessly into the oak wardrobe. Iris sniffled slightly, and immediately after sneezed, causing a large plume of dust to rise into the air. She sprang up from the bed, coughing and gasping as more and more dust began to fly up around her. She fled the grey room as tears stung her eyes, slamming the door behind her and panting heavily as she leaned on the wooden barrier, before roughly wiping her eyes and entering her own bedroom. Her room had always been much tidier than Drocell's, the many dolls he'd made for her sat neatly on the solitary shelf, their glazed eyes staring expressionlessly at the opposite wall. The only 2 not on the shelf was significantly smaller, and sat propped up against a plump pillow, on top of a thin blanket devoid of a single wrinkle. One doll was orange haired, with short hair towards the back and longer bangs framing its slightly smiling face, amusement glinting in it's twinkling purple eyes, carefully crafted out of glass, while the other doll had shaggy jet black hair and a tiny smirk crossing its features, it's eyes a multitude of colours, hints of blue, purple and tiny streaks of red. The orange haired doll was identical in every way to Drocell, and even had a tiny blue tiny fleur-de-lis painted under its right eye, whilst the miniature version of Iris had small diamond-star shapes painted in black under each eye. Iris picked up the doll version of herself, tracing her fingers over the very real black scars on her own face. "What's amazing" She commented to nobody in particular "Is how Drocell could make the ugliest of memories seem so beautiful and delicate in doll form" She settled the doll back with her brothers on the pillow, before leaving the room and hopping down the stairs 2 at a time, remembering to skip over the gaping hole. She busies herself with tidying the kitchen and shop, taking her time since she has more time after closing the shop early. She starts off by washing up last nights dishes, she doesn't bother with breakfast anymore, and only occasionally nibbles something at lunchtime, before restocking some of the emptying shelves. Business had been good that morning, so even though she wasn't open for as long, she still managed to sell a lot of goods. After that she phoned the various companies she distributed toys for and ordered any stock she was running out of. As usual, Funtom products had been swept from the shelves and she had to request it be delivered early the following morning. After that all she had to do was sweep and dust, maybe wipe down the counters and glass cabinets. When she was done she stood back to admire the sparkling shop, shelves gleaming, each toy carefully placed in an orderly fashion and the small space transformed into a colourful vision. She smiled as she skipped back behind the counter, removing 2 of the 5 gleaming throwing knives, sheathed inside a rich brown leather casing, intricate designs carved lightly into the material. She unsheathed them, admiring the gleaming blades, before snapping them shut again, turning to make her way upstairs to read for awhile before turning in. However, her plans were interrupted when she heard a carriage drawing to a halt just outside. She turned curiously to look at it, watching as a tall man exited, before turning to help a young boy down. Iris was about to turn and think nothing of it, but something in the butlers arm caught her attention as the boy spoke tersely with him. It was a small doll, and though it was a few meters away, she recognised that handiwork anywhere. She let out a small mix between a squeak and gagging sound. She knew Drocell's work when she saw it, the almost real way he'd carve and mold the materials, basing them from people and things he had already seen. The way those eyes shone and glimmered in the rising moons light were just like the eyes of the miniature versions of herself and Drocell, almost as if the toy was alive, almost like if you looked deep enough for long enough, there would indeed be a soul lurking there, just out of sight and reach.


	2. Chapter 2

Iris ducked as the two dark haired noblemen began to turn in her direction, cursing herself for not turning out the lights earlier, now they knew someone would be here. Of course, she wasn't sure who 'they' were, but she felt a sort of feeling of foreboding radiating from them. She knew whatever connection they had to Drocell couldn't be good. She could hear someone tapping lightly on the glass door, and she held her breath, hoping that maybe they might leave, but no such luck. Instead she heard the door opening quietly, the bell above the entrance tinkling lightly. She felt her eyes widen, she was sure she'd locked that door. Checking her pocket she saw that the key did indeed still rest there. Iris began to weigh out her options, finding herself stuck between the age old argument of fight or flight. On the one hand, if she fought them, she might be able to surprise and overpower them, and if she could do that, then maybe she could force them to hand over information on Drocell's disappearance. However, there was also the possibility that they would beat her, unlikely with the boy, but the taller gentlemen posed a threat. She pondered creeping through the door behind the counter and upstairs, perhaps hiding away until they left, the only looming threat being that it was likely they'd find her and she'd be forced to fight anyway. Suddenly she heard one of the two begin to speak.  
"My my, what a quaint little shop. Look young master, they even sell Funtom company products." The voice betrayed ill disguised amusement, very different to the replying voice, which sounded curt and annoyed.  
"Are you sure this is the right place? Seems a little too.. clean and ordinary for that doll man to have inhabited."  
"I am quite sure young master, the landlord showed me the documents, the name quite clearly stated 'Keinz'" came the reply. Iris noticed the voices weren't coming any closer, and took the opportunity to stealthily crawl through the half open door, immediately beginning the careful climb up the stairs, trying her utmost to remember each and every creak and crack, breathing out a sigh of relief when she made it to the top without alerting the muffled voices downstairs. She stood and tiptoed over to the small side table she kept at the end of the short hallway. There were no candles or lanterns over there, and her black clothing meant that when she crouched with her back pressed against the wall, she was pretty much invisible. She drew in a deep breath and unsheathed her knives, holding them comfortably in each hand and crossing her arms so that the tips pointed directly at the dimply lit staircase, concentrating as hard as she could on the voices downstairs, trying to determine if they were drawing nearer or not. To her dismay, one of the voices came from directly at the bottom of the stairs.  
"Young master, would it not be wise to search upstairs as well?" She heard the boy answer in approval of the idea, and felt the fear beginning to pool at the bottom of her stomach. What were they searching for? Were they looking for her? Did they perhaps believe Drocell still lived here? Did they want money, or valuable possessions? The tall man had seemed amused by the fact that she sold Funtom company products. Was that some kind of inside joke between the two? For a moment the thought crossed Iris' mind that she was being ridiculous, that they meant no harm, but she quickly banished this thought when she remembered the way they'd opened the door she _specifically remembered locking._ Any person with harmless intentions would have just left, or knocked again. These people were up to something. The question is.. what?  
All these thoughts ran circles around Iris' head as she saw the tall mans head and shoulders beginning to appear, followed by the rest of his dark clothed body. Iris' held her breath again as his gaze swept the dark hallway, looking right past her as she pressed herself further into the wall. He spoke abruptly  
"Master, if you'll please watch the stairs, the third one has a rather large hole in it" He turns and bows his head to the boy, who grunts in responce as he begins to make his own way up the stairs. When he reaches he top he heads to the nearest door, Drocell's room. He throws the door open carelessly and makes his way inside. The older man hesitates, but joins his master when he calls out  
"Sebastian! Look at this" Sebastian doesn't make any comment on whatever the boy has discovered. Iris can feel he anger rising from the pit of her stomach, but she forces herself to hold her position in the shadows, stopping herself from charging at the intruders and tearing her silver blades through their throats for disturbing the peace of her brothers room. Even she hadn't set foot in there for the 5 years before today, what made them think they could just barge in there and go through his stuff?! Iris squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to steady her breathing, but when she reopened them, she found herself gnawing angrily at her lower lip, only relaxing when the duo left the room.  
"Young master, if I might say? The room seems rather uninhabited, indeed the dust suggests that we are the only ones to disturb it in a long time. Come, let us search the other rooms, then we might leave if we find nothing." Sebastian bows to his child master, who only nods sullenly before opening the door to Iris' room and stepping in. Again though, the servant hesitates at the door.  
"Sebastian, I think you should see this" the boy says, sounding slightly nervous. Sebastian enters the room swiftly  
"Why that is a lot of dolls" He chuckles. Iris can see the shadow of his arm dancing on the wall as he runs his hands along the shelf of dolls. "This room seems very different, don't you think young master?"  
"Sebastian, on the bed." The terse voice of the boy rings out. Iris hears the servant move towards the bed.  
"It's the spitting image of Drocell Keinz. I wonder, why is it sat with such care?" He muses quietly.  
"Sebastian, who's the other doll supposed to be? Was it a doll at the Mandalay estate?" The boy asks, urgency evident in his voice.  
"No young master, she was not at the estate. Although, if I might direct you to the marks on her face? Drocell has a marking under his eye also. I could always ask around to see if anyone knows of the girl I sup-" the boy interrupts his servant.  
"Why do you say girl? It's wearing boys clothes, and the hair suggests boy"  
"Young master, Drocell Keinz was a skilled doll maker, he could make the doll wear whatever he wanted it to and it would still be a girl. He puts precise effort into making the body just so, it's not just some slopp-" The boy cuts him off again.  
"Never mind his skill at making dolls" he snaps. "Do you think this could be where he'd keep the girls? The shop is apparently still open and doing business, so he must have spent some time here. Also, have you found any new leads on that symbol at the Mandalay manor?"  
"Regrettably no young master. I'm afraid this place serves us no purpose on that particular case" Sebastian replies smoothly. Iris cannot make head or tails of what the two are talking about. Girls? What girls? And also what symbol? What happened at the Mandalay estate? What did ANY of this have to with Drocell?! All this sitting around and listening to nonsense made her want to tear out her hair and scream until her throat bled. She heard the pair leaving her room, and couldn't help but let out a growl of anger from deep within her throat. For hanging from the servants arms were _her _dolls. The dolls Drocell had lovingly crafted one day, especially for _her_. Not for some snobby kid to come and steal away one night. She saw the master and his servant stop at her growl, Sebastian pushing the boy behind him as she stopped thinking and threw the knife from her right hand with all her might, putting all her anger into the throw. It very nearly hit its target, mere millimeters away from the navy haired boys forehead, before the tall servant caught it between 2 gloved fingers, moving it closer to his own face to examine it. Iris stopped only for a second, as Ciel turned to stare at her, before she threw another knife, this time at the servant, and to her surprise, and the young boys, it stuck into a gloved hand. He dropped the two small dolls to the ground and looked at the blade with an irritated sigh, tugging it out slowly and examining the hole in his glove, tutting slightly as he did so.  
"You know, that is a rather impolite greeting don't you think?" He lifted his gaze to stare through the shadows and into her eyes, almost as if he were looking into her soul itself. Iris could have sworn she saw him lick his lips. She stood, not seeing any point to hiding in the shadows now.  
"I beg to differ, this seems a most fitting way to greet someone breaking and entering into my home and place of business" she spoke in a clipped tone, scowling at the two men before her. The boy looked surprised.  
"You live here? I assumed the previous owner was dead" Iris narrowed her eyes but said nothing. It was Sebastian who broke the silence in the end.  
"Apologies for the intrusion my lady, but we were under the impression that a certain Drocell Keinz resided here. Unfortunately there was an incident earlier on this week involving him, and he died. We came to gather infor-" Iris cut him off with a cry  
"What do you mean, died?!" She looked him dead in the eye, and to Sebastian was surprised to see tears glistening in the corners of her own eyes. Who knew someone could have such strong emotions for a crude doll? He hesitated slightly as he continued to talk.  
"Drocell Keinz was involved in the kidnap and murder of severa-" She cut him off again, this time by positively screaming at him.  
"NO! Drocell would NEVER do that!" Suddenly a look of anguish crossed over the girls face as she took a step fully out of the shadows, and Ciel gasped as he finally saw her face properly. Her expression quickly changed to one of anger. "You're lying! Drocell would never do that to anyone!" Her eyes narrowed and she angrily wiped away tears. "You're a liar." She said calmly. Almost too calmly, it put both young men on edge. Suddenly, without warning, she ran at Sebastian, a murderous glint shining in her eyes, drawing yet another knife from up her sleeve. Not as ornate as the previous ones, but effective nonetheless. Or at least it would have been. If Sebastian hadn't twisted it from her grasp at the last second, so that the razor sharp edge pierced into her stomach, causing her to stop, choking. Indeed, even Sebastian looked shocked as she fell to the ground, gasping for air and clutching at the spreading stain, he hadn't meant for her to get injured, he'd only meant to protect his master. As the dark haired girl dropped down as limp as her doll before her, Sebastian fell to his own knees, and a look of what seemed to be regret flitting across his handsome features, eyes glowing a fuchsia colour, pupils dilating into ca like slits for less than a second, before Iris completely blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

"What do we know about the girl?" Ciel Phantomhive asked his black clad butler, Sebastian. He lounged back in the plush armchair behind his desk, arms crossed as he wait for an answer.  
"I asked around the neighboring houses young master, all of whom seemed eager to gossip about her. Apparently her name is Iris Kienz, Drocell Keinz' younger sister by 1 year, making her 16. Apparently the two moved into the house 7 years ago, and Drocell worked his way up to head butler for the Mandalay estate. 5 years ago, when misss. Kienz was 11, it seems he disappeared from public view, and though many rumours circulated, his younger sister continued to insist that he worked from early in the morning to late at night. She has run the shop since then. According to several people, their parents died before they moved in." Sebastian finished and looked expectantly at his master, who mulled over this information in his head. "Additionally young master, it seems that Iris Keinz did not know the whereabouts of her brother either, considering our 'conversation' in her shop." The butler added blandly.  
"Why did she not file a missing persons report then?" Ciel snapped irritably  
"If I had to guess I'd say she didn't wish to be taken to an orphanage or workhouse" Sebastian answered. Ciel grunted  
"Understandable I suppose. What of the markings under her eyes?"  
"No one has any information of importance, apparently she's had them as long as she's lived there. Interestingly enough, Drocell began to paint the blue fleur-de-lis soon after the two moved in, one theory for this was he wished to be closer to his dolls" Sebastian's lip curled. "Though I doubt that was the case"  
"And what state is Miss. Kienz in now?" Ciel enquired after a few moments silence.  
"I believe she will probably awken very soon, her wound healed surprisingly fast for a mere human" Sebastian informed  
"Then you'd best go wait, I'd hate for our only lead to run away" Sebastian bowed and left the room, making his way swiftly up upstairs to a slightly ajar door. He slipped into the large room and strode over to the large bed, peering to look at the small lump under the silky covers. He tutted quietly to himself at how thin she was.  
"Well then, I guess we shall have to fatten you up a little bit" He said to himself. He began to examine the girls face, pulling her chin this way and that, running a gloved finger lightly along the black scars. They looked a little like burn marks, or like someone had taken a knife to her face. Sebastian withdrew his hand sharply when he felt her beginning to stir, her strangely coloured eyes fluttering open, looking at the butler, first in surprise, then in shock and anger. Iris shot up in the bed, glaring at Sebastian as she shuffled away.  
"Where the hell am I?" She spat out. Sebastian smiled lightly  
"You're at the Phantomhive estate my lady" He gave a small bow.  
"Why am I here? Who are you? Why were you in my home?" Iris scrambled off the bed and backed away to the other side of the room.  
"All in good time my lady. Young master will answer your questions once you are well enough to do so. How does your injury feel now?" Iris narrowed her eyes, putting a hand protectively over her stomach, still slightly painful, but almost completely healed.  
"It's fine" she spat. "Now answer my questions" Sebastian sighed and pressed two fingers to his forhead. He stayed silent for a few seconds before sighing again  
"Very well then" He motioned for her to go ahead of him, and she complied, looking at him suspiciously. He followed her from he room and pointed her down the corridors and stairs until they came to Ciel Phantomhive's study, when Sebastian placed a hand on the girls shoulder and knocked gently on the door. A muffled "enter" sounded from the room, and the tall butler opened the door and gently pushed Iris into the room, closing the door behind the two of them. Ciel looked up from the papers he's been signing, gesturing for Iris to sit in the chair facing him. She walked over, but refused the chair, choosing instead to stand straight backed, arms crossed, proudly sticking her nose slightly in the air and scowling at the blue haired boy before her. He raised an eyebrow as he looked her up and down.  
"Iris Keinz my lord" Sebastian broke the silence. "Miss. Kienz, this is my young master, the right honourable Earl Ciel Phantomhive. My lord, the young lady has some questions for you" He bowed and left the room.  
"What do you wish to know?" The young Earl leaned back into his chair, studying Iris over his fingertips.  
"First, what were you doing breaking and entering into my home?" Iris narrowed her eyes at him  
"We assumed there was nobody living there, we did not know Drocell Keinz had any family and we thought we could investigate quietly without distraction. If we had known of your existance we would have politely asked for permission" Ciel replied smoothly. "Anything else?"  
"Yeah, I have a lot of questions." The girl replied coldy. Befor she could continue, Ciel held up a finger.  
"Why don't we make a deal Miss. Kienz?" He queried  
"What kind of deal?"  
"You ask a question, I will answer honestly, then I ask you a question, and you answer honestly" He smirked slightly. Iris mulled this offer over in her mind before smirking back and nodding in agreement. "Good. My question to you is this; when did Drocell disappear?" Iris answered quickly.  
"Exactly five years ago. My turn, what do you know about Drocell's disappearance? I want the whole story." Ciel scowled slightly before sighing and gesturing for Iris to sit. She hesitantly took the offered chair.  
"Drocell was involved in the kidnap and murder of several young girls, including my fiance, Lady Elizabeth." Iris was about to interrupt, but a glare from Ciel quickly shut her up. "Don't interrupt" He snapped. Iris pursed her lips and shot daggers at him as he continued. "I recieved word that Elizabeth had run off from her servant, Paula. Sebastian and I set off to find her, taking the guard dog Pluto with us. Sebastian left us to gather a list of suspects on my order, and I ran into a man by the name of Grell Sutcliff. Now, I'm going to tell you something you may find a little... unbelievable." Ciel paused for a moment. "Grell is a grim reaper. BUT-" he cut in before Iris could speak. "Not the reaper you are thinking of. Grim reapers are a society of beings who come to Earth to reap the souls of humans, deciding whether or not they deserve to live or die, and watching something called a cinematic record to determine whether or not they should go to Heaven or Hell." he paused again."I won't go into the mechanics, as I am unsure myself. Anyway, I learned from Grell that a puppeteer called Drocell Keinz was behind the kidnappings, and I managed to get him to agree to accompany myself and Pluto to the Mandalay estate. We encountered one of the kidnapped girls, but we were too late. Grell fought her, and we soon realised that she had in fact, been turned into a doll. She was filled with sand. Very soon after that we were overun by more girls, all of whom bore significant resemblance to the victims. Each girl had been kidnapped and turned into a doll. Grell took the girls, and I ran to find Elizabeth. I ran into Drocell and he talked of making me into a doll too." Iris' eyes widened but she kept silent. "I met up with Sebastian at the top of a tower, and he destroyed the dolls that had overun Grell. We soon found Elizabeth in a storage room, where she attacked us. It transpired that she had been controlled by mere puppet strings, held by Drocell. He then began to question his own existance, thinking he were human and realising he was really a doll. Grell told us that Drocell's soul had in fact been collected 5 years ago, but someone had created a temporary soul for him. That's all I know about Drocell Kienz. And now I believe it is my turn, what are those scars under your eyes?" He queried, holding his head up with linked hands.  
"That's none of your business" Iris snarled, strangely coloured eyes flashing. At that moment, Sebastian re-entered the room, pushing a silver cart laden with tea and various cakes and fruits. He bowed and began to lay cups and saucers on the desk.  
"Today we have a soft cup of Earl Grey my lord. My lady, would you like something to eat?" He turned to bow to Iris. She shook her head, instead taking a sip of the tea, not noticing the annoyed expression that passed over the butlers face. Ciel noticed however, and he raised an eyebrow at Sebastian as he nibbled on a ginger biscuit.  
"Miss. Kienz, you may head back to your room now if you wish, or you can have a look around the mansion, as I have matters to discuss with Sebastian." The boy said curtly  
"But I still have questions-" Ciel cut her off with a smirk  
"You didn't tell me where those scars came from, I'm not in the habit of giving away information unlss I get something in return." He waved her off and she scowled as she left the room. As the door clicked shut, Ciel turned to Sebastian.  
"Something you want to tell me Sebastian?" He snickered.


End file.
